Monday, November 17, 2008

I have been converted. I used to think “environmentalist” was synonymous with “totalitarian weenie who wants to run my life but doesn’t have the balls to try taking my liberty on his own, so he’ll get the government to do it”, but now thanks to Mr. Derbyshire, via Lucianne, we can see the green future and it works.

If a public/private partnership (think Freddie and Fannie, but with union thugs instead of acorn types pushing you around) between the auto unions and the democrat party can provide this type of enviromental utopia for Detroit, what can they do for (to) your neck of the woods?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Six Meat Buffet is just plain funny, particularly when gems such as this piece of unintended consequences come to light. The innovative business plan of letting the customers set their own price at your restaurant may have something to recommend it, but not in a staying in business kind of way.

Hint for all - experienced as well as inexperienced business owners must consistently take in more money than they spend, or they go out of business. I know many want that to be no longer true, but there's life in the old Adam Smith yet.

On the bright side, watch these people; they have a future in the Obama administration.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I hope the sudden surge in gun buying results in an overstock and price drop before the bans finally come down the line. My bank account tells me I’m in no position to be forking out for black rifles of any variety. But if a credit card has to be maxed out in order to get what I need, I guess there are worse things in the world.

Over at Sebastian’s place, he links to some folks who think I’d be crazy to worry about what THE ONE is planning regarding my civil rights, because didn’t he pinky swear to not try to go for more gun control unless he can get big majorities in the house and senate, or it’s Tuesday, or he feels blue, or he needs an issue to give him the illusion of doing something about something.

How can one fail to be reassured by that level of commitment to the second amendment?

Personally, I think it’s just jealousy – here we have an industrywhich is booming (tee hee hee) in response to the ascension of His Messiah-ness, and the poor ink and pixel stained wretches of the media can’t even get a reach around after the massive knee pad party they just threw.

Hey ABCCBSCNNNSNBCNYTWAPO et.al., here’s is a hint: Make a product that people consider valuable, and they will go out of their way to buy it.

Monday, November 10, 2008

...to spend to give people the illusion of safety. From War On Guns comes this bit of official legerdemain. Seems one of the more tech-savvy burgs in Massachusetts spent a dumptruck load of dough (actually the last time I priced construction equipment, I think it's two dumptrucks worth) on the vaunted Shot Spotter anti crime system.

The first thing I noted was the disconnect between the headline and the body of the story:

Headline: "Police use ShotSpotter technology to combat gun violence"

Actual story: "Police used the ShotSpotter system to locate a shooting victim Oct. 14th near this intersection of Pine St. and Cedar St. in Springfield."

Lets review-- a $450,000 doodad that lets you quickly locate a perforated corpse, is not the same thing as one which prevents said corpse from becoming perforated in the first place.

Next is the admirable restraint shown by the reporter in refraining from editorializing when the police spokesflack said that in the four months of operation the system has netted an impressive zero arrests but it was only a matter of time till it did so.

Were I in in the reporter's place, the sentence after would read approximately ,"The department spokesman let it be know that the data from the new system would be sent directly to the bat cave, and soon, evil doers all over the city would be left neatly tied up and labelled with pithy notes describing the particulars of their crimes, so this whole crime thing was licked like a stamp."

Citizens, you can rest easy; your bullet-riddled corpses will no longer go unfound - Shot Spotter is on duty.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Found this on Lucianne this morning. It seems now that the messiah is in, the Washington Post is doing a small version of the "mea culpa" waltz hoping to win back some of the 50 million or so Americans who didn't think their boosterism of ol' hopey-changey was quite cricket.

Right there in the story was a link encouraging you to respond via email - so I did...

Saw an on-line version of your column about the titled election coverage - read the first paragraph - especially the bit about "The Post provided a lot of good campaign coverage" right there in the first sentence - started laughing - stopped reading and moved on to other things, but I'm still giggling. Thanks for the humor.

The on-line thing should be a clue; I haven't purchased a paper newspaper in about a decade. Hope your buyout offer comes soon - looking for a new career over fifty is tough.